The present invention is directed to a tubular container having at least one exterior wall forming a hollow interior cavity for loosely receiving and holding components such as semiconductor components with an arrangement to protect the component against electrostatic charging and/or discharging by providing an arrangement in the interior of the cavity which spaces the component from the interior surfaces of the cavity to limit frictional engagement.
As known, electrostatic charging or respectively discharging is frequently the cause of damage to or the destruction of semiconductor components. The container having hollow section are therefore employed for transporting and storage of electrostatically endangered components. The components are inserted into the container and are successively lined up in the container which consist of an electrically conductive material or a material that has been anti-statically treated in order to prevent charging.
One of the known protective measures consists of creating an anti-static container surface by means of treatment with an anti-static agent or fluid. Over the course of time, however, the coating of the anti-static agent or fluid can lose its protective effect due to abrasion or evaporation. Furthermore, these types of arrangements have an undesirable dependency on the ambient atmospheric humidity. The slackening of the protection which is provided, however, cannot be optically perceived so that a simple monitoring of the container and components is not possible. In addition, the halogens, nitrates and sulfates often contained in the anti-static agent or fluid will promote corrosion of the metallic terminal of the modules or component which corrosion is an undesirable condition.
One improved method that has already been suggested is to make all the container walls conductive by means of a mixture of the synthetic material containing lampblack or carbon. Since such a material has a very low resistance, the semiconductor module within them can also be damaged by an external discharge through the container wall. The addition of carbon also blackens the material of the container and thus makes visual inspection of the container or magazine impossible. Another undesirable property of the addition of the carbon to the synthetic material is the reduction of the mechanical stability of the synthetic material.
A bar magazine for the acceptance of a stack of logic elements or components is known and disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,353,481. The logic elements or components are given a low friction guidance with a reduced tribo-electrical charging because at least one inside wall of the magazine or container has a web with a triangular cross-section which web extends continuously along the longitudinal direction of the container. A multitude of such webs however is required in order to prevent all large surface frictional contact between the components or modules and the container walls particularly given the so-called dual-in-line housing. Particular attention must also be given to the terminal legs or pins of the components so that they remain out of contact with the container wall as much as possible. Regarding the manufacture of the magazine however, it is desirable to have a container that requires the fewest additional shapings of the structure of the container.